Machine for sharpening razors and other edge-tools.



F. H. RYAN.

MACHINE FOR SHARPENING RAZORS AND OTHER EDGE TOOLS.

APPHCATION FILED FEB. 28. 19:4.

Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETS -SHEET I.

lllllllllllllllllllll lll F. H. RYAN.

MACHINE FOR SHARPENING RAZORS AND OTHER EDGE TOOLS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 19M.

Patented July 27,

2 SHEETS-SHEET finance.

FREDERICK H. RYAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR SHARPENING- RAZORS AND OTI-IER EDGE-TOOLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2'7, 1915.

Application filed February 28, 1914. Serial N 0. 821,666.

To all whom it may concern: 4

lie it known that I, FREDERICK H. RYAN, a subject of George V, King ofGreat Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machines for Sharpening Razors and other Edge-Tools, ofwhich the following is a specification.

I have shown my invention embodied in a machine for sharpening a razorblade of the well known Gillette construction, but it may be embodied inother forms depending upon the blade or tool which is to be sharpened byit. I have also shown my machine arranged with a hone or stone, but itmay be used with other sharpening means.

My invention will be understood by reference to the drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of a device embodying myinvention; Fig. 3 being-a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4being a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 1. p

In its preferred form my invention comprises a bed having a bottom plateA and two side walls A A Within this bed as shown is mounted a hone Bor-the like of any suitable material, the whole being supported uponsuitable feet C which are preferably made of rubber and are attached tothe under side of the plate A of the frame by screws 0. Each side wall AA preferably extends slightly above the upper surface of the hone B andis slotted as at a to receive the axle F of the blade holder. To turnthis shaft it carries friction wheels of some character which run uponsuitable runways, one located on each side of the bed. As shown theserunways are in the form of racks D, one attached to each of the sidewalls A A the tops of the teeth of each being approximately on the levelof the bottom wall of the adjacent slot a, and the friction wheels arein the form of pinions G.

The blade holder comprises a handle E which is forked, having two arms6; the outer end of each arm is perforated to receive the ends of theaxle F. This axle thus extends across the device and projects throughthe slots (1 in the side walls A, A. Just outside the walls A A the axleis reduced in diameter so that shoulders f are formed and on. eachreduced portion f of the axle is carried. a pinion G which engas one ofthe racks D. These pinione are adapted to turn freely on the axle Fexcept as they are held in frictional contact with the shoulders f bymeans of springs g and set nuts 7 By means of these set nuts thisfrictional contact with the shoulders f may be adjusted.

The axle F is perforated as at h to receive the'shank 71. of the bladeclamp. The blade clamp comprises two members,a base plate or member H towhich the shank k is permanently attached and from which project pins71?, and an upper plate H having key hole slots or openings it.

It is well known that the Gillette blade has openings in it whichcotiperate with pins in the razor-holder to center the blade J in properposition in the holder. In the embodiment of my machine shown the pins hare located with reference to these openings so that the blade J will beproperly centered on the blade clamp. Each pin has a head which isslightly larger than its body and the pins project above the blade whenit is in place sufficiently to allow the top plate II to slide under theheads. To clamp the blade in the clamp the larger portions of thekey-hole slots or openings 72 in the top plate H are caused to registerwith the pins k and the plate is dropped into position, the heads of thepins projecting through the openings, after which the top plate I-I maybe pulled laterally to the right by the upwardly-projecting ear or thumbpiece 71. the narrow parts of the slots or openings b will be overlappedslightly by the heads of the pins 11, thusretaining the top plate H inclamping position.

The shank h of the blade clamp is threaded so that it may be adjusted inand out in the opening it in the axle F and this threaded shank affordsa pivotal connection of the blade clamp with the bar or axle F, so thatthe said blade clamp may turn slightly and thus automatically adjustitself to any irregularities onthe surface of the hone. It is extremelydiflicult to grind a stone absolutely level however smooth it may be,and this construction allows the blade during the honing operation toadjust itself to these slight differences of level. To enable the bladeclamp to be adjusted in or out relative to the bar or axle F, by virtueof the threaded shank 72. to compensate for diflerent widths of blades,it is necessary to raise the said blade clamp from the hone or body B,havin the sharpening surfaces, so that the said blade clamp may beturned manually to effect the desired adjustment. But in the use ofthedevice the blade clamp will vibrate with the said bar or axle F withoutturning far enough to disturb such adjustment.

The pinions G serve two purposes. They serve with the'axle and the upperwall of tion of movement, the pinions G upon re-' 3 versing theirdirection of movement by reasome type.

'son of their frictional contact with the axle F. throw the axle over sothat the blade reverses its direction of movement and the opposite sideof the edge of the blade is ground. When the blade strikes the hone,

however, the frictional relation between the pinions and the ends of theshaft allows the pinions to rotate, while the axle is held stationary bythe engagement of the blade with the hone. By allowing a little playbetween thetop edge of the slots 0. and the top of the axle itispossible to adjust the "axle so that the pinions do not run in teethexactly opposite each other, andthus perhaps grind the edge of the bladeat a slight angle. In certain cases this may be desirable. In'any event,as is usual when a hone is used, the

blade is drawn in the direction of its edge as shown by the arrows inthe drawings, and it is for this reason that my invention is especiallyadapted for use with a. hone of In use therefore the blade is placedupon the under portion H of the clamp in such a way that the pins kproject through the openings in the blade. The

plate H is then slipped over the pins 72,

and by means of the ear 7:. the plate is pushed to the right (seeFig. 1) so that the narrow portions of the openings it run un- ;holdingthe machine during the grinding operation a handle K may be used, thisbeing attached to one of the walls A.

The details of construction of my device may be changed somewhat, theimportant feature thereof being the adjustable relation of the bladeclamp to the shaft, whereby the to the irregularities of the surface ofthe stone and also may be adjusted in and out from the shaft tocompensate for the width of the blade in cases where the blade has beenpreviously ground, and hence has lost a portion of its width.

What I claim as my invention is 2- In a blade sharpener, the combinationwith a frame adapted to support a sharpening body, of a blade holdercomprising a bar or axle extending across the said body, and a bladeclamp having a screw-threaded shank by which it is pivotally attached tosaid bar or axle so that it may turn on an axis at right angles to thelength of said bar or axle and thus be adapted to conform automaticallyto unevennesses of the surface of said sharpeningbody and whichscrewthreaded shank permits of adjustment of the said blade clamp in orout relative to the said bar or axle, to compensate for different widthsof blades.

FREDERICK H. RYAN.

Witnesses:

GERY O. G. BowEN, M. E. FLAHERTY.

65' clamp may adjust itself to a certain extent

